Turnabout Troubadour
by Timcampy-chan
Summary: A murder takes place in the dead of night, right under the noses of Eliwood's army. A suspect is found, but he swears he's innocent. It's up to Erk to prove him innocent and find the real killer, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney style! Ch. 3: CLIFFHANGER WOO
1. Prologue: Murder

I'm sorry, but I couldn't _not_ do this. Blame my friend for further fueling the fandom. (Yay for alliteration!) And it's the return of Aidan! Huzzah! 

Going along with my use of the word "huzzah", I kind of don't have a sure plot in mind. I have all the witnesses picked out and everything, but I feel a little bad with who I've chosen for the murderer. I need to give that person a more solid motive. Now, it's disclaimer time!

I really do own Fire Emblem, but just the game cartridge. Other than that, I've got nothing. I also doesn't own Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney--not even the game card, because a friend lent it to me.

On with the story, ready, steady...GO!

* * *

Turnabout Tactician

_Prologue: Murder_

"Wha...what are you holding...?"

"I'd expect more from you, after spending so much time on the battlefield. Can't you at least recognize a dagger?"

"Ah..Ah! No, please, don't--"

"Hmph. Like you can tell me what to do. It'll all be over soon, so stop whining."

"N-no! Someone, help!"

"Goodbye, Priscilla."

"No! Lord Brother, help me! Help--"

As the frigid steel plunged into human flesh, the princess of the lost House Cornwell let out a final scream--a desperate yell, a call for a savior who would never come...

She was dead before she hit the ground, and her body slowly began to grow as cold as the ground that was now saturated with her blood.

---

_December 15  
Lord Eliwood's Camp (Eliwood's Tent)  
10:39 PM_

Hector yawned and his eyes, with a glazed look in them, moved back and forth as his mind drifted away from the tactician's ramblings. _How did we manage to fit so many people in one tent...? _he wondered absentmindedly, as he tried to mentally estimate the size of his friend and fellow noble's tent. Despite the large size, it had quickly gotten stuffy and Hector was positive he heard Matthew snoring somewhere behind him. As his eyelids drooped and he began to doze off, he earned a sharp poke in the side from the Sacaean woman sitting to his right. She cast a quick glare at him as he gave a small cry of pain, and she smartly turned her turquoise eyes back to the youth who was drawing plans on a large piece of paper.

"Pay attention, this is important," she stated rather bluntly, not facing him. He guessed that she was still upset with him about the argument they had had earlier that day. Most likely. Hector sighed. _Women..._

"Aidan, are we done yet?" inquired the blue-haired lord, wincing and rubbing the spot where Lyn had prodded him.

"Nope! Not even close!" he announced, turning to the lord and beaming from ear to ear. He absorbed himself in the tactics again. "Now, in the next battle we're going to try out a new formation. Lady Lyndis, Kent, Sain, and Guy," he nodded at the four he had mentioned, "along with Raven are to head over--huh?" He spun around several times, his unruly brown hair and loose green cloak whipping about his slender body as he moved about. "Where the heck is he, anyway? He knows he's supposed to come to these meetings. But come to think of it, Priscilla's gone, too. And a few other people didn't show up either...where could they be...?" Thoughtfully, he scratched the back of his head.

The Ostian noble groaned. "How much longer? We don't really need a new strategy, we've been doing just fine with---"

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream broke them all from their thoughts (and in a few cases, slumber) and all turned their attention to the source of the noise. Outside...

Eliwood rose from his seat and nearly knocked over his chair. "What was that?" he asked sternly, his hand gripping his rapier tightly.

"Something bad, if they're screaming like that." Aidan nodded, affirming his own statement.

Lyn drew the Mani Katti, stood, and faced the others. "Hurry, we have to help...!"

---

_December 15  
Lord Eliwood's Camp (Outside Priscilla's Tent)  
10:45 PM_

"Ah!!"

"No...please, don't let it be true..."

"Wha...wha...it can't be..."

"No! Elimine, no! PRISCILLA!!"

"H-how could this happen?! Blast!"

"Right under our noses..."

Chaos enveloped the camp as the entire company gathered around one solitary tent.

"A murder..." muttered the tactician, fists clenched, "...right under our noses."

"Who would do something like this?" cried Guy, unrestrained tears running down his face. "She is...she was so kind, she never hurt anyone..."

Gripping the handle of his Wolf Beil, Hector scowled. "And that's our problem now," he said. "We have to find out who killed...who did this."

"R-right." _A warrior of Sacae should never show weakness so openly._ The young myrmidon blushed and hastily wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Now, everyone!" called Eliwood, raising his rapier into the air to bring all the attention to himself. "We must remain calm!" Not completely calm himself, he took a deep breath before speaking again. "I know that you are all devastated by the turn of events. Lord Aidan and I will get to the bottom of this catastrophe, no matter what the cost."

Will turned to Rebecca. "Have you seen Raven?" he asked anxiously. She shook her head, biting her lip in worry.

"Wait, there he is--" she started, noticing him approaching, but she screamed as she saw what he had slung over his shouder. "H-his sword!! Blood!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded as all eyes fell upon the hard-eyed mercenary.

"Lord Raymond..." Lucius whispered fearfully. "No..."

"You killed her!"

"Why?!"

"Seize him!"

----

"It seems that we won't just be searching for Nergal on this trip." Aidan smirked. "I'll need to get a suit...I wonder if I look good in fuschia?"

* * *

Thank you for reading! This is a little short, but it's mainly an introduction, so it's not that bad. I'll try to make up for it later.

Please review!


	2. Day 1: Investigation, Part I

Timcampy: Hi, folks! Yeah, I've been dead…I wandered about the internet a whole lot, discovering some things that really don't need to be mentioned, but eventually will be anyways. (John Adams. And Thomas Jefferson. HOLY SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, WHAT THE FUDGE IS WRONG WITH THOSE PEOPLE. Just go to DeviantArt and search for "John Adams"...it's the first result. x.x Ew.) But thanks to English 3 AP, the let's-learn-how-to-write-well class, I'm encouraged to pick up writing again! Please forgive me for being gone for so long and let's hope I don't have another long absence like that again.

On with the story! Still don't own Fire Emblem or Phoenix Wright, which is and will be referenced WAY too many times in this story.

* * *

_Day 1: Investigation, Part I_

-----

_December 16th  
__Lord Eliwood's Camp (outside Priscilla's tent)  
__12:57 AM_

"Are you really going to do this?"

"If I don't, who will?"

"But it's almost hopeless! Have you seen how much proof they have against Raven?"

"He didn't do it. I…I just know he didn't."

"But—"

"I am a mage. A master of justice. Now's a good time to prove that I'll stand by that…and prove that he's innocent."

-----

_December 16th  
__Lord Eliwood's Camp  
__7:13 AM_

Erk exited his tent, his eyes red and irritated from the lack of sleep. After the suspect, Raven, had been taken into custody, Erk and a few other generous members of the army had volunteered to clean up the scene of the murder. And what a gruesome scene it was: although Priscilla herself was in one piece, her tent was less fortunate. It was obvious she had put up a fight. Broken staves and trinkets, books ripped to tatters and forlornly lying on the ground like fallen birds, an old family portrait torn in half…all this and more was scattered about her room. When this work was done his grief denied Erk the rest he so needed, and it seemed as though he woke only moments after he had finally drifted off to sleep.

And Aidan had issued some…unusual commands last night, as well. Mostly having to do with aces and attorneys. He also recalled something about shoes and pals. Gym shoes? Erk shook his head. It probably wasn't too important.

Aimlessly he meandered about the camp. Soon he found his legs had taken him to the scene of the murder, where two of his fellow soldiers were scurrying about the area. A man with an untidy mop of pale teal hair (for some reason, instead of his usual yellow armor, dressed in a blue outfit from a country Erk was unable to identify) was clutching a strange white cone-shaped device, which he was now raising to his mouth. No doubt the tactician's doing. He vaguely remembered this knight being associated with something about a "meekin". Perhaps that word had been plural—

"_**GOOD MORNING, ERK!"**_ Lowen bellowed, nearly sending Erk into convulsions from the shock. The megaphone magnified his greeting, which was already loud enough for the poor sleep-deprived mage. _**"LORD AIDAN GAVE ME THIS! HE SAID IT MAKES PEOPLE TAKE ME MORE SERIOUSLY BECAUSE OF HOW LOUD IT MAKES ME SOUND!" **_Erk instinctively swatted the instrument out of Lowen's hands—Lowen tried to chase after it, but only choked himself on a pair of what he was told were "handcuffs"—and massaged his temples, grateful for the relative silence. Normally he would have been more polite, but he doubted how much of a normal situation this was.

"Isn't it _fascinating_ how that meh-gy-foon works, Erk?" said the second person brightly. Erk looked up; the familiar face (and hair color) of Canas met his eyes. Today, however, Canas was also wearing a different outfit—a long green cloak that seemed more like an oversized shirt and a strip of red fabric tied to his neck that was oddly triangular at the end, all over a white shirt and a pair of beige pants. He also sported a bandage on his cheek and what Erk imagined was a writing utensil tucked in his ear.

The shaman remarked joyfully, "And these outfits are simply wonderful, as well!" Spinning around in glee, his trenchcoat and tie flapped about. "But my real job is important—I'm in charge of investigating Lady Priscilla's murder." His face took on a more serious expression. "Pal," he hastily added. "Aidan says I'm supposed to say that every other sentence! Er, pal!" Canas chuckled.

_Why "pal"?_ thought Erk. _But no matter, there are more important things at hand._ "Canas," he began, "have you gotten any new information about last night's events?"

"Sure do, pal!" he replied. From a pocket in his coat he withdrew a Manila envelope and handed it to Erk. "All the data that you need is in here."

Erk stared blankly at it for a while before quietly asking, "How…how do you open this?" Canas shrugged sadly, as he knew no more than Erk. All he had done was write down the information, and the tactician had put everything inside. Fiddling with the large yellow envelope proved worth the time, and the two managed to figure out that uncoiling the string opened it. The mage removed the papers and took a look at them.

"Time of death…between 9:00 PM and 10:45 PM, December 15," read off the purple-haired youth, his voice cracking slightly as he went on. "Cause of death, a fatal stab wound to the heart. Died within a few minutes of being wounded."

Canas listened thoughtfully. _Ah, so that's what Aidan was scribbling on the papers—the times in a different format. Has this boy learned this method of time-telling? I wonder…_

"Erk…why do you need all of this information? I don't mean to pry, but I do not think it will be of a benefit to you to know the specifics of Lady Priscilla's demise…"

The mage turned. "I do need it. Desperately."

"For what purpose?"

The resolve in Erk's face was clear. Canas could have sworn he saw fire reflected in them when he uttered a single, simple sentence.

"I'm going to prove that Raven is innocent."

* * *

In case you couldn't tell, Lowen is wearing a police uniform and is playing the role of Mike Meekins, that insane yet lovable officer in AA1 case 5. And, of course, Canas is Detective Dick Gumshoe, the best detective in the history of ever. He runs red lights, subsists on instant ramen noodles, and may or may not be a hobo--what's not to love? XD More story will come as it is written!

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	3. Day 1: Investigation, Part II

Timcampy: Hola! We're up to chapter 3! Not too much to say here except I don't own anything but this fic and Aidan. Also, Katy, an RP buddy and longtime internet buddy of mine, has kindly allowed me to feature her OC in the fic!

Blossom: Hey, everybody!

Timcampy: Isn't she adorable?! X3 Anyways, it'll only be a little cameo, so be not afraid, all ye who fear OCs. I don't see why you'd be afraid of Blossom, anyways—she's a cute and sweet girl who, according to the roleplays Katy and I and our friend Misty have done, may or may not eventually have a romantic relationship with Aidan later on. -cue sitcom crowd "oooohh!!"-

Blossom: -blushes and runs away-

Timcampy: Not in this fic, though! Anyways, here's Turnabout Troubadour chapter 3!

* * *

_Day 1: Investigation, Part II_

_-----_

_December 16__th  
__Lord Eliwood's Camp (Crime Scene)  
__7:25 AM_

Erk rubbed his hands together and entered the tent with Canas following close behind.

"All right, let's get to work!"

The room was, for the most part, exactly the same as it had been before…before last night. The young mage felt himself shudder as the horrible memories came back again—the sharp tang of the smell of Priscilla's blood, the scattered belongings...it seemed as if nothing had happened. But he couldn't change it and never could. He bit his lip; now wasn't the time to be breaking down.

The shaman sighed. This tent had a bad aura, and he'd be happy to leave as soon as he could. He scanned the room. At least it wasn't as messy, or as gruesome, as the night before: the clean-up had been very efficient. He unknowingly mirrored Erk's thoughts—it really did appear that nothing had happened. But suddenly, he stopped and his eyes widened as the realization hit him. The tent looked exactly as it had before the murder!

"DEAR SWEET ELIMINE, WE'VE CLEANED UP ALL THE EVIDENCE!!" screamed Canas, his monocle falling off and limply hanging from his ear. Erk whipped around to face him; why didn't they think about that the other night?! True, they were all in shock, but that was no excuse for disturbing a crime scene!

"Augh, I'm so stupid!" grumbled Erk in frustration. "Now how are we going to find any evidence?!" Amidst the frantic babblings of Canas and his own harried thoughts, Erk thought he heard a small cough from outside the tent. Hushing his companion he exited and found himself face-to-face with a concerned-looking Sacaean swordsman.

Guy smiled weakly. "You know, I helped clean up too! You'd have to show me the things, but I remember where everything was." His expression fell. "Even…even the body. B-by the way," stuttered the myrmidon, struggling to keep up his happy countenance, "we kept all of her belongings. I'm pretty sure one of the lords has got her things."

Erk's hopes had soared—if Guy could pull through, maybe this disaster wouldn't turn out so bad after all! "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked. "There was quite a lot going on, and there was hardly enough time to be able to remember so many things."

He replied simply, "I'm from Sacae. I can't tell lies." Guy proudly pointed a finger to his temple. "I've also got a decent memory."

The purple-haired youth silently praised Elimine and heartily thanked his comrade. "You've saved us, Guy!" he exclaimed. The embarrassed swordsman's only response was a nervous chuckle and a mumbled "you're welcome".

---

_December 16__th  
__Lord Eliwood's Camp  
__7:36 AM_

Leaving Canas to his work (it was his turn to guard the suspect), Erk and Guy searched the camp for the lords.

"After all," Guy had said earlier, "It'd be rude if we barged in and started searching through their things, right?" Erk had agreed; he faintly remembered Canas accidentally hurting himself when curiosity got the best of him and he went into the tactician's tent. He'd been dragged out, charred and smoking—Priscilla had had to heal the poor man. Priscilla…Erk stared morosely back at her tent.

"Have you got any idea of where they could be?" Erk asked Guy. He shook his head in response.

"Maybe we should ask Aidan?" suggested the myrmidon, looking hopeful.

Erk groaned. "That'll take even longer than looking for one of the lords! You know how he disappears all the time—" Erk stopped when he felt a tug at his cloak. Looking down, he noticed a small girl looking up at him.

"You don't really mean that, do you? It's not too hard to find him, at least for me," she piped up. The girl rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, her brunette pigtails and scarlet scarf bobbing up and down as she moved.

Erk raised an eyebrow. "Really?" the mage inquired, hanging onto her every word. "Do you know where we can find him?"

Tapping her chin with her finger, she said thoughtfully, "You know…"

"Yes, yes?"

"I don't really know where he is right now."

Erk nearly fell over from shock—_What was all of that "it's not too hard to find him" business for, then?!_

The girl sadly gripped the sword slung over her back. "I'm sorry. He disappeared sometime last night…no one really knows where he went."

"Is that so…?" he muttered.

"I can help you guys find him, if you want!" volunteered Blossom. She started to run off, but she stopped abruptly as she caught sight of someone waving at her from far away.

"Huh?" Guy cocked his head, squinting. "Who's that? And what's wrong with Blossom?"

There was an expression of pure horror on her face as she screeched, "What in Elimine's name are you wearing, Aidan?!"

His dark eyes blinked as Guy realized who it was. "Oh. I think…I think we've found him…"

The tactician had resurfaced from the depths of who-knows-where…wearing a crisp fuschia suit and an unnaturally frilly white collar. He jogged up to them, excitedly flaunting the white accessory tied around his neck, but Blossom didn't seem to be as enthusiastic about it as he was.

"T-take that off!" she demanded, pointing at his neck with revulsion. "It looks horrible!!"

"Aww, but it's SO COOL!" protested the tactician. "See?" He tugged at the collar with both hands, proudly showing off its frilliness. "It's called a cravat. All good prosecutors wear them! Well, most good prosecutors, anyway. I think you can substitute it with other recognizable things, like Godot's visor or Kyouya's necklace…"

Blossom sighed. "I think something's seriously wrong with you, but if you're that happy about it…" Meanwhile, both Erk and Guy were staring at him, dumbfounded. This experience was already proving to be interesting, at the very least.

"Er…" started Guy.

"Back to you guys! I had a feeling I was needed. What is it?" he asked brightly, turning to the others. "Even though we're technically on opposite sides I'm here to help. It's only fair." The scrawny youth beamed.

"Opposite sides?" the myrmidon wondered aloud. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," explained Aidan, "It goes like this. We needed a way to figure out if Raven was truly the murderer. Because not everyone with us is from the same country, the systems of justice are different. And we're in the middle of nowhere, pretty much. So, because Lord Eliwood didn't have a problem with it, we're going to do this my way!"

Guy turned to Erk with disbelief written on his face. Erk nodded solemnly. "I've been studying Aidan's court system in my free time for a while, but not really in-depth or anything. I only started seriously studying it last night."

"You study in your free time?!" The Sacaean stared at him, incredulous.

"I do." Erk looked confused. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"No…never mind." Guy cast him a strange look.

"So!" the tactician continued, "What do you guys need?"

---

_December 16__th  
__Lord Eliwood's Camp (Lord Eliwood's Tent)  
__9:09 AM_

Guy's stomach had been growling at a dangerously loud volume; they had decided to eat breakfast before heading off to investigate again. Blossom had wandered off to go play somewhere along the way, but she'd been eyeing Aidan's new suit in a way that didn't make him feel like it was safe to wear it around her.

Now inside Eliwood's tent, Erk inquired, "I didn't hear Lord Eliwood allow us to come in. Did you ask him, Lord Aidan?"

Aidan, rummaging through an armoire, replied, "I already told you, you don't have to call me Lord. And no, not really. He won't mind, though!"

_Not really?! _Erk thought, irritated, _We could have done that ourselves!_

"It's kind of bad that you guys disturbed the crime scene…" he said, his voice muffled by a coat.

_And this is coming from the person who's searching through a nobleman's belongings without permission._

"Eureka!" exclaimed the tactician. "Now, let's see what we've got here." He carefully removed a few objects and carefully laid them out on the floor. His search had turned up several objects, most of which were old staves or ruined books. (The objects still intact had been left in Priscilla's tent.)

_Nothing terribly important here, _mused Erk as he absentmindedly flipped through a tome. However, he did notice something peculiar—a small family portrait. _That's odd... _He picked it up and examined it. A young, rosy-cheeked and Priscilla was in the center, and standing tall behind her were a man and a woman. The picture had been torn in half; the jagged rip frayed Priscilla's left side.

"_Family Portrait added to Court Record!_"

Erk slowly turned around and stared at Aidan, annoyed. The tactician self-consciously stared at his feet and said quietly, "It had to be done."

He shook his head and went back to searching for important clues. Under a lone piece of parchment was a glint of silver that caught the mage's eye. After removing the paper (and raising his other hand to make sure Aidan wouldn't have another outburst), he picked up the object—a bloodstained dagger, wrapped in cloth. The murder weapon…! He nearly dropped it out of shock. Carefully, he unwrapped it to take a closer look. Suddenly, he heard Guy inhale sharply behind him.

"Guy, what is it?" Erk questioned.

"I…I know whose knife that is," he said softly.

"Are you positive?"

Guy nodded.

"I am. I should know it better than anyone else—I'm always trying to figure out how to beat the person who uses it.

It's…it's Matthew's…"

* * *

CLIFFHANGER WHOOOOP 8DDD

Thanks for reading and please review!


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